Directive No. 417-TTg Regarding the Continued Rectification of Organization, Strengthening Management, Restoring Order, and Promoting Production in Coal Extraction and Business.

DIRECTIVE

ON CONTINUING TO IMPROVE ORGANIZATION, STRENGTHEN MANAGEMENT, RESTORE ORDER, AND PROMOTE PRODUCTION IN THE MINING AND BUSINESS OF COAL

Coal mines are a large resource, an important energy source with significant implications for many economic sectors and people's consumption. Like other minerals, this resource does not regenerate, therefore, the Vietnam Coal Corporation and coal mining and business units in localities must work together with all levels and relevant sectors to develop specific, synchronized plans and programs to organize mining according to procedures and regulations, use resources and coal products efficiently and economically, aiming to meet the rapidly increasing demand in the country's industrialization and modernization efforts.

Due to various reasons, in reality over many years, the situation of protecting resources has tended to be lax, coal production has been low, the resource preparation factor has decreased due to insufficient stripping of overburden, few tunnel preparations; old and outdated machinery and equipment lacking spare parts; illegal coal mining and business have occurred in many places, most seriously in the mining areas of Quang Ninh province.

In light of the above situation, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 381-TTg on July 27, 1994, and Directive No. 382-TTg on July 28, 1994, to reorganize and restore order in coal mining and business. After one year of implementation, there have been clear improvements in coal production and business in many localities, particularly in the Quang Ninh mining area. Compared to the same period last year and previous years, the amount of coal mined, domestic consumption, exports, the volume of overburden stripping, tunnel preparation, and average income per capita have all increased. Additionally, production processes are gradually becoming more standardized, and order in coal mining and business has made progress.

Coal companies and local authorities, especially in Quang Ninh, have made significant efforts in implementing management reforms, strengthening relationships between industries and localities, making the coal industry gradually stabilize and operate more systematically compared to previous years.

However, during the process of implementing the Prime Minister's policies, there are still some shortcomings in the organizational restructuring of the Corporation and the restoration of order in coal mining and business, which although have improved, are not yet firmly established, lacking fundamental, thorough, and synchronized solutions, etc.

To ensure the correct implementation of the spirit of the aforementioned Decisions and Directives of the Prime Minister, at the meeting held on July 2, 1995, in Ha Long City, after listening to the opinions of leaders from related Ministries and sectors, the Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Ninh Province, the General Director, and some Directors and members of the Vietnam Coal Corporation, the Prime Minister instructed:

1. To meet the energy needs for the country's industrialization and modernization, along with the Oil and Electricity industries, the Coal industry must proactively examine and promptly propose positive, synchronized solutions, striving to reach a clean coal production of 10 million tons by 2000 and continue to increase thereafter.

2. In the direction of developing production, besides the main task of developing coal production and business as well as coal product processing, it is necessary to combine the development of industries using local raw materials and human resources such as cement production, construction materials, and services for the Coal industry, avoiding the trend of expanding unrelated product businesses solely for profit.

3. Besides the potential for developing the coal mining industry generally, Quang Ninh also has advantages in developing tourism and service industries, therefore, when planning, planning, and throughout the entire production technology management process, great attention must be paid to synchronous development, avoiding difficult-to-rectify consequences related to production planning, urban construction, environmental protection, etc.

4. Given the characteristic that the Quang Ninh coal region is where a large number of workers are concentrated across generations, both the Vietnam Coal Corporation and the province must take responsibility, demonstrated through active measures and concrete actions to maintain and develop professions, attract children of cadres, workers, and employees to be closely associated with the Coal industry, and adopt appropriate methods and forms to improve the living standards and social welfare of coal miners.

5. The implementation of Decision No. 381-TTg dated July 27, 1994, and Directive No. 382-TTg dated July 28, 1994, of the Prime Minister regarding restoring order in coal mining and business not only aims to protect resources but also significantly relates to environmental protection; maintaining strict legal discipline. Not only must there be resolute administrative measures, but also very synchronized solutions combining education, mobilizing the public to comply with the law, with specific economic measures to fundamentally and firmly resolve order and safety issues in the mining area.

The Vietnam Coal Corporation and state-owned coal mining and business units must closely cooperate with the province, quickly plan, clearly define management boundaries, following the principle that every mine must have a manager; the mine manager must be responsible for managing the entire area under their charge.

The Vietnam Coal Corporation must closely cooperate with the People's Committee of Quang Ninh Province as well as the People's Committees of related provinces to carefully discuss and propose appropriate measures and forms to organize and rearrange illegal coal mining and business labor and equipment as follows:

For those with suitable skills and safe equipment, they should be organized to recover floating coal from waste sites, ravines, rivers, and streams; to exploit small seams thoroughly but must commit to complying with the industry's procedures and purchase their products.

For those workers without a profession, guidance should be provided and conditions created to enable them to switch to other professions, secure employment, and have access to support policies for loans and appropriate vocational training, as well as initial physical facilities. The means of transportation such as automobiles, bulldozers, etc., of these entities need to be reorganized to enter into contracts for hire with the Coal Industry and other sectors, or purchased if necessary.

Local authorities at all levels must strengthen state management, coordinate with the Vietnam Coal Corporation to thoroughly and fundamentally address illegal coal mining and consumption; end the situation of "coal bosses" and "middlemen"; and resolutely deal with cases of intentional violation of laws that disrupt social order.

All state-owned enterprises using coal as raw material must have coal purchase and sale contracts (short-term or long-term) with the Vietnam Coal Corporation or state-owned coal companies; enterprises engaging in illegal coal buying, selling, and transportation shall be subject to strict administrative and legal penalties.

The Heavy Industry Ministry is responsible for state management of coal mineral resources nationwide; the Vietnam Coal Corporation and local coal companies and enterprises are responsible for directly managing the assigned mining areas.

People's Committees at all levels are responsible for protecting unexploited mining areas, supervising compliance with the Mineral Resources Law; preventing, stopping, and strictly handling violations related to mineral resource protection and the environment; closely monitoring the number of people engaged in illegal mining and trading from other regions and compelling them to return to their place of residence.

Strict implementation of the Prime Minister's Decisions and Directives on promoting production and stabilizing order in mining operations is a common requirement for coal-producing regions, particularly those with significant mining output such as Quang Ninh, Bac Thai, Lang Son, Nghe An, etc.

6. Regarding specific issues proposed by the Vietnam Coal Corporation:

a. The implementation of the membership regulations of the Vietnam Coal Corporation concerning the Dong Bac Company and the Quang Ninh Coal Company shall be entrusted to the Chairman of the Central Steering Committee for Enterprise Reform, who will consult thoroughly with relevant ministries, sectors, and localities to clearly define and regulate according to the law in the revised Charter of the Vietnam Coal Corporation, serving as a basis for member enterprises to follow.

b. The restructuring and organization of the Mining Machinery Company shall be entrusted to the Government Machinery Board in coordination with the Ministry of Energy and the Vietnam Coal Corporation to study and analyze the effectiveness and operational capacity of units within this company, and report to the Prime Minister for decision-making.

c. Regarding mine timber, the Vietnam Coal Corporation must base its actions on current needs, identify raw material regions, and develop concrete plans to proactively sign contracts with wood raw material bases, ensuring sufficient quantity, quality, and timely delivery. The transfer of the Timber Joint Stock Company to the Vietnam Coal Corporation requires careful consideration. The Vietnam Coal Corporation should discuss and reach consensus with the Ministry of Forestry and report this matter to the Prime Minister.

d. The relocation of the headquarters of the Vietnam Coal Corporation to Hanoi should not be implemented temporarily but remain in Ha Long City to focus on directing the Quang Ninh mining area. To facilitate transactions and marketing, the Vietnam Coal Corporation should establish a transaction office in Hanoi.

đ. The implementation of the function of General Director needs to be carefully studied because it relates to other enterprises. Entrust the Central Steering Committee for Enterprise Reform to study this issue and make specific recommendations to the Prime Minister.